


Someone, Somewhere

by sharedwithyou



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Humor, Angstangstangst, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, F/M, Mindfuck, Reader Needs a Hug, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-02-23 16:50:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13194402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharedwithyou/pseuds/sharedwithyou
Summary: "Tony. Aren't you the one who does Kanye-style rants on his twitter? And makes 8 posts at 1 time because you can't fit your thoughts into 140 character?! Or even 280?!""You're mad about the ex comment.""No. I mean, I am, but that's not why." You finished tapping your reply to your mystery man. He had a really good wit. Not to mention, his life was actually interesting. Fighting agents and mutants and stuff turned out to get boring after a while. Especially when you didn't have awesome genetic powers. Just a black belt and a Ph. D in physics."Then why?!""Because." You sent a few emojis, before closing the lid on the laptop. "You're fun. And I like you.""And that means I treat you like crap."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'M ALIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
> 
> I've been wanting to post since forever ago, but I'm been very freakin busy and over the holidays I had no internet so couldn't do it then either.
> 
> This is gonna be a short fic; was hoping to finish it in a one-shot but work hates me right now so a few short chapters will have to do.
> 
> This is kind of sad and angsty. But it's my stuff so, you know.
> 
> Wish I could talk to you guys more often! Miss you all! Feel free to hit me up in the comments any time you feel like chatting.
> 
> XOXO Bucky the Angstmaster
> 
>  
> 
> Based on a stupidly true story

"What do you see in him, anyway?"

"I told you. We're just friends."

"You spend like three times more time typing to this guy than you did actually talking to your ex."

"I never talk to my ex."

"You know I meant back when you're together."

"What happened to the know talking about exes unless we're both smashed rule?!"

"I broke it. So what?!"

"Fine. Whatever." You turned back to the screen which had been blinking for the last minute.

"He writes like paragraphs. Is he gay?!"

"Tony. Aren't you the one who does Kanye-style rants on his twitter? And makes 8 posts at 1 time because you can't fit your thoughts into 140 character?! Or even 280?!"

"You're mad about the ex comment."

"No. I mean, I am, but that's not why." You finished tapping your reply to your mystery man. He had a really good wit. Not to mention, his life was actually interesting. Fighting agents and mutants and stuff turned out to get boring after a while. Especially when you didn't have awesome genetic powers. Just a black belt and a Ph. D in physics.

"Then why?!"

"Because." You sent a few emojis, before closing the lid on the laptop. "You're fun. And I like you."

"And that means I treat you like crap."

"Thanks for getting me those reports early."

"No prob, B."

Bruce colored at this nickname; or, having a nickname probably.

"So whacha need me to work on today?"

"Uh, actually I was thinking of giving you the day off."

"Again? It's the third day in a row."

He eyed you weirdly. "You're turning down time off?"

"Of course not!" He didn't need to know you enjoyed working alongside him. Aside from his few-and-far-between temper bursts, he was pleasant to be around. He was secretly funny; and when he did whisper a quip under his breath, you felt privy to something no one else knew.

Except maybe Nat. You assumed, since they'd had that whole lullaby thing for a while. Bruce was back to his broody self now, and the Widow didn't seem to mind giving him space. Though the detached politeness between them gave everyone else, including you, the creeps.

Anyway, you were able to work efficiently in a quiet atmosphere. Somehow you felt relaxed when he was around, even though he'd hulked out when you accidentally deleted the majority of the contents of his hard drive that one time.

You'd probably hurl a beaker at him too if he ever wiped the convo logs of your messaging app.

Not that you'd been using it for long. But whenever you were feeling lonely, and G3B21269 was offline, you'd read through your old correspondence and feel warm and fuzzy inside all over again.

Clint said it was a little scarily desperate and that he'd gladly introduce you to some beautiful lesbian, since he didn't think any of the guys you knew were good enough for you.

Steve urged you to be careful and not reveal anything too personal.

Tony leered over your shoulder half the time offering sexually explicit things to say/type.

Thor mused at how close you seemed to feel with this (presumedly real) guy, considering you'd only known him for a week.

But it made perfect sense to you. You loved your team, but you never felt that comfortable with them. Who knows what you said would be remembered and recorded and put into which file. Maybe a tragic story from your past wasn't actually in your "Official SHIELD History." and if anyone involved in your business knew about it would change your assignment or which missions you'd be allowed on or if you'd even be taken out of the best team under Fury.

So, though you made sure your employment and personal details were vague and little white lie, and that your VPN was secure, you were otherwise trusting and open with the person on the other side.

After all, friends could treat you like crap. But since your personal information wasn't going to be used to blackmail you;

How could a random ear out there somewhere hurt you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE IT LIKE THAT BUT I HAD TO I'VE HAD ZERO ENERGY
> 
> Hope you like it so far!
> 
> Random Ramblings:
> 
> Quick Poll 1: who?!?! seriously everyone is awesome in this one. including mystery man, even though you technically don't know him.
> 
> Quick Poll 2: any questions you'd like answered in the next few chapters? I'm thinking there will be 2 more, but who knows if I can fit it all into the next one, OR if it will turn civil unrest-y
> 
> Quick Poll 3: Catch me up on your life! How were your holidays! What's new?! ETC ETC I love talking to y'all
> 
> That's it for now lovelies! I wish you the very best New Year's and hope you had great Holidays!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey lovelies! Wish I could write more and post more often but I'm fucking tired all the time =/ I see all your comments and love hearing from you, and will reply to them as soon as I don't feel like dying.. In the meantime here's a chapter I managed to crank out. Hope everyone is doing well! Leave me a comment if you liked!
> 
> XOXO Bucky

"What are you doing?"

 

You jumped away from the laptop and brandished the USB mouse defensively.

 

Nat the Cat looked at you, amused. You were more than a little embarrassed; especially considering who's laptop it was and who was looking at you accusingly. Fine maybe not accusingly. But still.You were sensitive.

 

"Just, looking at B's notes. To see, if, you know, he actually got anything done while I was off the clock."

 

You had no idea why.you lied. It was Nat. Wasn't there some sort of girl code of snooping through another guy's stuff?!

 

No need to mention that she was a world class spy and interrogator. Damnit you mentioned it!

 

 

"Makes sense."

 

 

She was gracious about it, which made you feel even worse. Although, if she was really gracious, she would've knocked. Or, you know, not called you out so accusingly.

 

"Right. Well-"

 

"Be careful, Iy/n)."

 

You closed the lid on his Mac and tilted your head at her. "Of what?"

 

"He's not... he's not easy."

 

"I know. Tony's the easy one of the group."

 

"That's- " She bit her lip and chuckled. You were glad that at least in the team of elite, you had one edge above everyone else. You could make anyone spit-take without breaking a sweat.

 

 

 

"Bruce. He's deceptively complicated."

 

 

"Well, I would imagine anyone who turned big and green at the drop of a pin would be."

 

She shook her head; you weren't sure if she was appreciating your joke or disappointed you didn't get it.

 

She did have a view of him that no one else did.

 

Not that anyone had asked you. Or asked for volunteers. Whatever.

 

 

"Well, I gotta go. It's 11 AM in Korea."

 

"He's...Korean?"

 

You shrugged. "What did you expect?"

 

"I don't know...white?"

 

This time both of you laughed. "Supposedly he's just there on business. For a few more days."

 

"What does he do?"

 

 

 

"Does it matter?"

 

 

 

After all, who knew if he was telling the truth, or if he was even a he.

 

It's just-

 

He fucking listened. He didn't need to know the other side of the story. He didn't need to know all the facts. He didn't need to know what you had for breakfast (though you usually mentioned it; it was the most important meal of the day).

 

 

He just waited patiently for the dotdotdot to disappear as you pressed enter. Sometimes you were almost done with a sentence, and you'd se that he started typing, so you'd stop. Then he'd stop.

 

Here, you could barely get a sentence out without getting interrupted by some form of peanut gallery, let alone take a breath to finish an argument or pick what everyone was getting for take-out.

 

 

This guy waited for you to type. TYPE.

 

 

So, what? You didn't know anything about him? You didn't need to.

 

 

He never made you feel like crap.

 

 

You wondered if she could read all this in your face. Even if she wasn't the Black Widow, Tony said anyone could read you like a book. A coloring book.

 

See the whole feeling like crap thing?

 

 

But you weren't going to wait around for an answer. So you just took the USB mouse you'd lent Bruce since the touch pad was hurting his wrist (which you interpreted as giving him carpal tunnel) off the desk and sauntered out.

 

 

It was time to take a break from your "friends" again.

 

 

 

 

_Did you get enough to eat?_

**_You make me sound like a pig._ **

_I seem to recall food being important to you. In general._

**_What, do you keep chat logs?_ **

_Of course not._

 

Just me, I guess. You thought to yourself. You were annoyingly sentimental, even for this Mystery Man.

 

_Well, what was it today?_

**_Sun-dried tomato and goat cheese rissotto. And yours?_ **

_Toast. Tea._

**_What are you, British?_ **

_You say that as if it was a bad thing._

**_Nah, just trying to imagine Korean being spoken with a British Accent._ **

 

You smiled at the slightly annoyed emoji he used.

 

 

_Tell me about your day._

**_You don’t have to ask twice.._ **

****

**“** I was not being snippy!”

You pressed the power button on your laptop and looked up.

“Tony. How many times have I told you to stop reading over my shoulder.”

“Hey. I waited 6 whole minutes for you to finish your conversation. Nice try with the <3 by the way. Too bad he didn’t reciprocate.”

“Shut up.” You pushed your feet against the desk so your computer chair rolled into him.

“Oof! Come on, at least give me credit for not interrupting you.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“Let me thi- oh wait, no!”

 

“What do you see in him, anyway?”

 

You watched Tony for a minute, as he laid on your bed and squeezed your stuffed elephant. He was getting mushy again.

“Hmm, besides the fact that he’s not you?”

He threw Honkers at you and rolled off your comforter. “Too harsh.”

“Let it go, Tony.”

“It was a really good kiss!”

“And that’s all you’re getting. Period. Ever.”

He blew a raspberry at you, but left you alone with your thoughts.

 

“So. You kissed.”

 

“God fucking damn it!” You almost threw Honkers at Clint, who had decided to rappell down from the vent Tony swore had been bolted shut.

“When? Where? Oh, and why?!?!?!”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Too bad.” Clint gave you a stern look. “I told you not to mess with the Playboy.”

“I didn’t- wait, I don’t have to explain anything to you!!”

“Guess again.”

Clint lifted your laptop over his head with one swift motion. Damn those Hawk reflexes to hell!

 

“Everything okay in there?”

“Fan-bloody-tastic!” You called over your shoulder sartastically as Steve popped his head in, having heard your voice rise to last-ice-cream-sandwich decibels.

“Clint, put her laptop down.”

“No can do Cap. She totally frenched the Frenchman.”

“Who’s French?”

“Clint, shut up! Thor, you know there’s a 2 boy limit in my room!”

 

You wanted to scream, but instead flopped onto your bed and watched as Clint somehow managed to monkey-in-the-middle your laptop to Thor. It was all too much.

 

Too much drama, too much politics, too much boys and too much sexual tension that was never resolved between certain parties.

 

It took you a minute to realize that Thor had placed your laptop back on your desk and that they were staring at you worriedly.

 

“(Y/n)? You still alive?”

“Yep.”

“You, uh…want us to leave you alone?”

“Yep.”

 

Clint lingered slightly, and Steve reached over to grab him by the collar but you shook your head.

 

“It’s simple with him, Clint. It just…

 

Is.”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to end this in one chapter but.... well things happen haha
> 
> Random Ramblings:
> 
> Poll 1: You know the deal. After all every guy has a chance at this time ;)
> 
> I couldn't decide on a screenname for you so I just put your chats in bold and his in regular italics.
> 
> Flashback to feeling annoyingly crestfallen when they logged off without saying <3 back. Or maybe that's just me.
> 
>  
> 
> I will get to your comments in a day or so. In the meantime please continue telling me about your day/life. I love hearing from you guys. Shout-out to Pharm, Sheep and Harley for putting up with my long pauses between fics/replies. Love you all!
> 
> XOXO Bucky


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life has gotten in the way of me writing. The next avengers is coming and I need to write more!!! Because once again status quo will be changing canon-wise involving some sort of character development or who knows what-all.
> 
> Anyway, happy Valentine's day!!! If you're not in the mood for angst though don't read this chapter. It kind of hurts.
> 
> I actually had a great V Day! I just naturally write angst.
> 
> I'm surprised I ended it so fast, but at the same time it was originally supposed to be a one-shot, so there ya go. I spent a lot of time (precious free time) on writing this, so I hope you like it! 
> 
> XOXO Bucky the Mindfucker

“Not a goddamn thing!”

Is the first thing you said after 3 hours of stony silence, since Tony had just knocked on your door to ask what you wanted for dinner.

“Woah, PMS zone!”

He walked away whistling and you thanked your lucky stars. Of course, five seconds later he popped back in.

“Why are you staring at the wall?”

You dutifully ignored him.

“What, Mystery Man stood you up or something?”

You placed your hands on your laptop slowly, hoping he’d go away. No such luck, of course.

“Probably shouldn’t have used the kissy face emoji-“

You turned around and hurled the laptop full force at his face.

 

“Hey! Ow!!!!” Tony caught your laptop like a champ, but his palms were still smarting. “What the fuck, (y/n)?!”

 

“It doesn’t matter. It never fucking mattered.”

 

 

“(Y/n) slacking off again?”

“Gave her the day off.”

“What, that’s like 4 this week. And it’s not even Saturday.”

“What are you, her boss?”

“You’re unusually testy.” Nat the Cat crossed her arms casually and watched him as he flipped through a stack of notes you’d transcribed from his muffled audios.

“I’m known to have a bit of a temper.”

It had all the signs of playful banter, but the edge was there, and more so than usual.

“I’d assume you’d be more relaxed without her company.”

“Well you’re here aren’t you?!”

“Don’t compare us, Bruce.”

 

“I’m not.” He stood up and walked over to her, staring straight into her eyes.

She held her stance, not so much holding her ground as waiting expectantly. She didn’t flinch when he put his hands on her shoulders. She knew him so well.

“Let it go, Natasha.”

 

 

“It’s over.”

“Damn. That’s cold.” Having recovered from getting a laptop launched at him and seeing you go from Regina George on Kalteen Bars mad to crumpled behind your computer chair, he had dragged you onto the bed and given you a pillow to hug. Of course, his usual quips were unavoidable.

“That’s what he said. Or, typed. Whatever.”

“And that’s it?!”

“He also said ‘there’s someone else.’”

“Oof.” He said it partially out of sympathy, and partially because Clint had just dropped down the vent onto his foot.

“I brought the ice cream.”

Okay, so they were assholes. But they loved you.

“Is it too early to say I told you so?”

He ducked a second later as a paper plate came flipping towards his head.

“Brother Barton. Now is not the time. If ever.”

“Damnit Thor, I told you to bring bowls, not plates!”

 

 

Why did it bother you so much? There’s someone else? So what?! Someone else to talk to? What you can’t have more than one friend?!

Or if there was a ‘someone else’ that would make you the first ‘someone’ wouldn’t it?

And there you were in the middle, not quite friend not quite lover, swimming in a sea of ambiguity.

Which you were perfectly content with, until he cut you off. Left you drowning grasping for understanding.

Were you just someone to talk to when he was bored? But he made time out of his day, specific times, so he could listen to you.

Had he gotten scared? Because of your little <3 and heart eyes emoji? But if that were the case he didn’t have to tell you there was someone else.

Because saying that there was someone else now, means that you were getting replaced.

Which hurts like fucking hell.

But it also means you were in a place where only one person could be.

 

You couldn’t say you had fallen in love with him. Not just because it had only been a few days, not because you didn’t really know who he was, where he lived, what he did, if he was anything close to what little he’d told you.

You just didn’t have it in you to fall in love just yet.

Maybe that’s why it was perfect for you.

It was enough. It was good enough. It was fun enough. It was safe enough.

Or so you thought.

 

Turns out everyone has the chance to treat you like crap.

 

 

You supposed the turmoil was what made you tiptoe into the lab and not acknowledge Bruce until you sneezed.

“Shit!”

“Sorry, B. Did I scare you?”

“Uh…” He looked away from his computer screen guiltily, and you wondered if he’d been watching porn.

“Just, ehm, clearing up some files. You know, to make room for the simulation sequences you made. Thanks, by the way. Although next time I give you a day off feel free to actually not work for the entire day.”

You grinned and he returned a smile shyly. “Ready to get to work?”

“Ah, actually…” He clicked repeatedly on the recycle bin.

“Another day off?” You never thought you’d dread having a free day. But you felt like you’d been steamrolled about 8 times already.

“Fuck it.” You were surprised that he dropped the F bomb. More surprised by his next words.

 

“(Y/n), want to get some coffee?”

 

G3B21269. In the end you guessed it was just a jumble of stupid letters and numbers.

And someone who used to matter

 

“I’m still getting paid, right Bruce?”

“Lol.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. Just. Yeah.
> 
> Random Ramblings:  
> Quick Poll 1: WHOOOO
> 
> I'm kinda drained after this chapter so just leave your thoughts below.
> 
> XOXO Bucky
> 
> p.s. G3B21269 - G3 (Gentle Green Giant) B2 (Bruce Banner) 12/1969 (birthday)
> 
> Yeah "Let it go, Natasha" coincides with "Its over." So, yeah.
> 
> Also the "lol" at the end. Bruce would never use chatspeak otherwise. Without lovely's influence ;)
> 
> So you're the "someone else". Very midfucky. Hope it wasn't blindingly obvious from the beginning because that means I need to shape up my mindfuckery.
> 
> SO UNSATISFYING BUT UGH IT'S DONE. 
> 
> Love all my lovelies!! Muah!


End file.
